Critical Consensus: Epic “Mysteries of Lisbon” Is The Pick of The Week

Critical Consensus: Epic "Mysteries of Lisbon" Is The Pick of The Week

Legendary director Raoul Ruiz gives audiences the first film of his sixth decade of filmmaking with “Mysteries of Lisbon,” which topped four other specialty openers this weekend to be the criticWIRE pick of the week. An adaptation of a famous 19th-century novel by Portuguese author Camilo Castelo Branco, the film focuses on the child of an ill-fated romance between two aristocrats who are forbidden to marry. Many thought “Lisbon” would be Ruiz’s final film, but thankfully surgery for liver cancer saved his life.

With the exception of the Rachel Weisz vehicle “The Whistleblower,” all of this week’s specialty releases deal in some fashion with men in search of a purpose. The most overt example, “Bellflower,” takes the libido-fueled fantasy of a fancy car and flame throwers into expressive dramatic territory. The dreamlike story of two “Mad Max” enthusiasts, “Bellflower” engagingly follows their romantic pursuits and then takes their post-apocalypse fetishes into nightmare territory. Still, these carefree slackers don’t face nearly the same level of gender challenges that the teen transsexual star of “Gun Hill Road,” played by Harmony Santana in an acclaimed performance, embodies with fascinating exactitude. That’s a level of social estrangement that even the young orphan in Raul Ruiz’s “Mysteries of Lisbon,” awash in a search for his origin story that lasts four-and-half-hours on screen, doesn’t have to face.

Still, their frustrations have a kinship in that they all feel somewhat alone. In fact, the only man in this pile of new releases who has found a way to keep himself happy is Ken Kesey, the subject of Alex Gibney and Alison Elwood’s “Magic Trip.” Chances are strong, however, that dropping acid can’t solve any of the dark human mysteries of “Lisbon,” “Bellflower” and “Gun Hill Road” combined.

Find links below for more extensive takes on “Mysteries of Lisbon,” “Bellflower,” “Gun Hill Road,” “The Whistleblower” and “Magic Trip.” Also offered is the top 10 criticWIRE scores for films already in theaters, which is currently topped by Steve James’ “The Interrupters.” Note that only films with four or more grades have their averages included.

criticWIRE: Films Opening This WeekNOTE: The averages listed here are current as of the publishing of this article. They are subject to change as new grades come in, and will be updated in next week’s edition of this article.